Titans 9, Jaguars 6: 5 things to know
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a defensive battle (or, more accurately, an offensive mess), the Titans found a way in their 9-6 win against the Jaguars (2-1) on Sunday.
Here are five things to know as the Titans improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the AFC South.
9.5-point underdog, you say?
With a quarterback limited by an elbow injury, the 9.5-point underdogs came to TIAA Bank Field and took a 3point lead into the fourth quarter against a defensive juggernaut many pundits have labeled as a Super Bowl contender.
Marcus Mariota had a heroic effort, rushing seven times for 51 yards, including a 15-yard scramble on a thirdand-2 late in the fourth quarter that helped seal the game. Ryan Succop was 3-of-4 on field-goal tries, including a 28-yarder with 6:42 left that capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive.
"If you can get a division victory on the road, it’s critical. It’s huge," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. "Now we have a big challenge ahead of us coming back home next week. We have to get healthy. It’s easier to do all of those things and make the corrections after a win than after a loss."
Mariota, dealing with an elbow injury that has caused numbness and tingling in his right (throwing) hand, began another Sunday in a baseball cap, watching from the sideline.
The Titans' No. 1 quarterback was relegated to a backup role for the second straight week, with Blaine Gabbert getting the start for the Titans. But his afternoon didn't last long.
Marcus Mariota steps in after Gabbert injury
Gabbert went down after a sack (that was negated because of a penalty) during the Titans' second drive before eventually walking slowly off the field. Mariota, wearing a partially cut glove on his right (throwing) hand (only his fourth and fifth fingers were covered), replaced him.
"You had a bunch of guys coming in and hit him in the head," Vrabel said. "We have to block them and do a better job. Those things are unfortunate. It wasn’t dirty or malicious. It was a blitz, and we have to do a better job of blocking it and coaching it and recognizing it. Make sure those things don’t happen."
Gabbert, who completed just one of three passes, was ruled out with a concussion. So was cornerback Adoree' Jackson, who got leveled by James O'Shaughnessy on a punt return. Mariota completed 12 of 18 passes for 100 yards.
Drops galore
Mariota's first four passes fell incomplete, but that's an entirely misleading stat: three of those incompletions were catchable balls. Two were egregious drops – one by Rishard Matthews and another by Tajae Sharpe. Both would have gone for first downs.
Defense tosses a gem
For all the struggles of the offense, the Titans' defense did its part.
OK, some of it had to do with Blake Bortles. The Jaguars quarterback looked nothing like the quarterback who beat the Patriots with four passing touchdowns last week. He completed 21 of 34 passes for just 155 yards Sunday.
But the Titans' defense was hounding. Timely pass breakups. Good pressure on Bortles, including three sacks and four QB hurries. And the Jaguars, who were without star running back Leonard Fournette, struggled all afternoon to generate much offense (232 total yards, to be exact).
Wesley Woodyard led the unit with 10 solo tackles, including a sack. Reach Erik Bacharach at ebacharach@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ErikBacharach.